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In June 2014, the Center for a New American Security released “Creative Disruption: Technology, Strategy and the Future of the Global Defense Industry.” The paper argued that the United States military risks losing its technological advantage if the Department of Defense and its industry partners do not adapt to widely recognized strategic, technological, and business trends.

With a new administration set to begin in a just over a month, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) has released a new report laying out practical steps the next administration can take to make surveillance protect national security, respect critical civil liberties, and bolster the American economy. The report, “Surveillance Policy: A Pragmatic Agenda for 2017 and Beyond,” makes more than 60 concrete recommendations. CNAS Senior Fellow Adam Klein, CNAS CEO Michèle Flournoy, and CNAS President Richard Fontaine authored the report. The report is the product of dozens of meetings over the course of a year with security professionals, privacy advocates, and technology experts.

Rapid advances in mobile computing offer the Department of Defense significant benefits. Leveraging the capabilities of leading-edge mobile devices within DoD could amplify the positive impact of workforce mobility, enhance information security, and instigate the modernization of aging information technology infrastructure within the Pentagon. Yet the department’s risk-averse culture and intractable acquisition policies likely will cause it to squander these opportunities in favor of outdated, more expensive, and less effective mobility solutions.

During the next administration, DoD needs to continue to implement business reforms that save money and improve effectiveness. Not long after the new administration’s senior staff is in place, the deputy secretary of defense (who currently serves as the department’s chief management officer) will probably call a meeting to formulate an agenda. Similar meetings may occur in the military departments. This paper seeks to assist those meetings by providing a menu of higher-priority candidates for business reform, defined here as changes in business practices rather than the termination or restructuring of lower-priority programs. Business reforms are particularly important because they can save money while improving, or at least not reducing, mission effectiveness. The paper draws on research from many organizations. It also reflects my own experience with DoD financial and reform initiatives, experience that spans four decades and included service as DoD’s comptroller and chief financial officer from 2009 to 2014.

The CNAS Asia-Pacific Security Program released a new edited volume on the future defense of Korea. The volume, edited by CNAS Asia-Pacific Security Program Director Dr. Patrick M. Cronin, is entitled Breakthrough on the Peninsula: Third Offset Strategies and the Future Defense of Korea and makes a series of recommendations for the next Administration